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Schupp, Webb to be Honored as UCM Distinguished Alumni

Contact: Jeff Murphy
WARRENSBURG, MO (Sept. 27, 2011) – Mark Schupp, a University of Central Missouri graduate who excelled in advertising, and Mike Webb, who enjoys a successful career in international business, will be honored as Distinguished Alumni during UCM’s 2011 Homecoming celebration.

Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented Friday, Oct. 7, during a dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Sandra Temple Elliott Ballroom of the Elliott Union. The reception in their honor takes place at 5:30 p.m. Individuals who are interested in attending the event can do so by making reservations by Sept. 26 with the UCM Office of Alumni Relations and Development in the Smiser Alumni Center.

Established in 1978, the Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor presented by the UCM Alumni Association. It recognizes alumni who are considered esteemed by their peers as the “brightest and most distinguished” in their field. Award selection is based on nominations from friends, associates and former professors.

Mike Webb

Mike Webb is an inventor, international business executive and entrepreneur. He graduated from UCM in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and minors in chemistry and biology.

The Eau Claire, Wis., resident currently manages domestic and international businesses specializing in petroleum, real estate and intellectual property. He formed an energy company in 1987 known as U-Fuel, which provides self service fuel at airports and for the general public.

An innovator, Webb has received nearly 20 patents since 1991 related to different products and systems, such as a portable fuel facility, system for storing waste fluids, method of testing fuel systems, vertical fuel station, and more. His international businesses are located in Mongolia, Mexico, China, Africa and Australia. In China, he created the Webb School to Teach English to Chinese children.

Webb’s business experience is extensive and includes owning his own development corporation, running his own charter aircraft company, serving as president of a cable company, involvement in real estate and working in banking and insurance trusts.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Webb has played a significant role in the life of UCM, helping to establish the UCM Foundation in 1979 and serving as its first president. He also was involved in Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, serving on the committee to build its national headquarters building in Warrensburg, and was elected president of its foundation.

Webb recalls many professors and experiences at UCM that have influenced his life, often pushing him into new directions. This includes one faculty member who introduced him to China and international economics. As he notes, “Little did I know that the knowledge gained from classes in micro and macroeconomics, business law and money and banking would be a key to my future. It has been a greater journey, starting from the University of Central Missouri, and it is not over.”

Mark Schupp

Anyone who has watched television over the past three decades, may have unknowingly came upon the work of Mark Schupp, who currently resides in St. Louis and has enjoyed a world-class career in advertising and marketing. Schupp graduated from UCM in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and joined Barickman Advertising – Doyle Dane and Bernbach, which was then the largest advertising agency in Kansas City. He later joined one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, D’Arcy McManus & Masius in St. Louis, working for the agency’s most important clients such as Red Lobster Restaurants, Southwestern Bell, Budweiser, Michelob and Busch beers. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., hired him in 1987 and appointed Schupp brand manager of Bud Light beer, helping to catapult the brand from the eight largest selling beer to No. 1 in America. Many of his Anheuser-Busch campaigns, including “Spuds MacKenzie,” “I Love You Man” and “Bud Bowl” were among the most successful campaigns in the world.

Wanting to start his own agency, Schupp left Anheuser-Busch in 1993 to establish the Schupp Company, which has gone on to serve many of the nation’s leading companies, including Coca Cola, American Express, Sara Lee, Sprint and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. In addition to Schupp being named the St. Louis Ad Club’s first ever Man of the Year in 2009, his company has been recognized by St. Louis media as one of the city’s best places to work. The agency also has donated more than $2.5 million to various charitable and non-profit organizations.

Schupp writes about his UCM experience, noting, “There wasn’t one class, one professor, one friend, one event or one experience that was ultimately responsible for making me who I am today. It was a combination of everything that UCM offered that allowed me to hit the ground running after graduation.”

The cost to attend the Distinguished Alumni Dinner is $35 per person. Individuals who want to make reservations to attend the event should call 660-543-8000.